Rebirth from the Ashes

Pei Xu had no vocabulary to express his shell shock except the word “f*ck”. Sister Xi was no human.

It was not hard to guess who was behind Su Ruowan’s scandal now that he recognized it was her. What a powerful and bad*ss move.

Shen Xi played Su Ruowan like a puppet, making her do whatever she wanted. Everything was within her grasp.

Su Ruowan was made a fool in front of the public because of the plagiarism.

What about this time? What kind of comedic stunt was she going to pull before them? Pei Xu was really looking forward to it.

Sitting next to him, Yu Qiubai held his phone and sent a message to Shen Xi. [Yu Qiubai: Are you coming back when the shoot is over?]

Since the show had not started, Shen Xi was fooling around with her phone. She gritted her teeth when she saw the message, knowing that d*mn fox would find out. [Shen Xi: Yes.]

[Yu Qiubai: Can you come to my place if you have the time tomorrow?]

Shen Xi understood the reason behind going to his place. [Shen Xi: Sure.]

Yu Qiubai then put away his phone. Mom’s illness took a turn for the better after taking Shen Xi’s medication for two weeks. There was no more of the endless agony and freaking out at the sight of people. There were times when she even recognized him.

He had been steering clear of Shen Xi lately, not wanting to bother her as he went in search of the cause of Mom’s illness. Yet, he was left at a dead end.

Yu Qiubai knew he might get the answer he wanted from Li Yuan, but he could not risk looking for the latter.

Mom might lose her sanity, but at least she was still alive and had him by her side. There was a possibility Mom would be gone if he went and looked for Li Yuan.

“Hey.” Pei Xu glanced at him. “Give me a lollipop.”

Yu Qiubai looked askance at him. “I don’t have one.”

Pei Xu studied Yu Qiubai’s face and had a hunch that the latter might have already figured Mr. Xixi’s identity. Perhaps he had caught on earlier than him.

Still, he could not read anything from Yu Qiubai’s face.

“Hey handsome, this is for you.” A girl sitting in front of them bashfully handed Pei Xu a lollipop.

The girls around looked enviously at her. A few even boldly stood up to give Pei Xu lollipops while a few were forthright in asking to add him on WeChat.

These two good-looking hunks were the man of their dreams. They had taken notice of the boys since the beginning, but no one had the courage to hit on them. Now that an opportunity presented itself, they asked for their contacts.

Looking at the pack of hungry she-wolves trying to pounce, Pei Xu frowned in disdain before hooking Yu Qiubai by the shoulder and giving it a pull.

A cuss word nearly escaped Yu Qiubai’s lips as a scowl shadowed over his handsome face. He then turned and saw the shock and eureka from the girls.

These fangirls were usually into boy love and could tell the odds were not in their favor. The girl who asked for the Wechat contact said, “I wish you two happiness.”

Yu Qiubai thought to himself, ‘What the f*ck!’

With the girls back to their seats, Pei Xu pushed Yu Qiubai away and grabbed a wet wipe from Lin Ge in disdain. He rubbed hard to wipe away the invisible stains. D*mn! His hands were soiled.

Yu Qiubai could flip out. “F*ck you, Pei Xu!”

“Help out a bro.” Pei Xu laughed unconcernedly and tossed him a pack of wet wipes.

Yu Qiubai had never felt so used before and to be mistaken for his sexual orientation too. He hissed through clenched teeth. “I like women!”

Pei Xu offhandedly grinned. “Who do you like? Do you need my help to woo her?”

Yu Qiubai was merely displeased to be used as a shield. The International Class girls were sitting nearby. It took a brief moment before he regained composure and narrowed his foxy eyes. “Alpha Xu, don’t tell me you’re…”

Could Pei Xu be uninterested in women?

“Up yours!” Pei Xu shouted agitatedly.

Yu Qiubai let out a suggestive chuckle. He seemed to have stumbled upon a secret.

Curious, Lin Ge leaned in to listen further but quickly turned his attention back to the stage after getting the glare from Pei Xu. The countdown had commenced and the show was about to start.

The ranking based on real-time voting was broadcast at the opening of the show.

The audience was yelling profanities and staring at Su Ruowan’s fans when Su Ruowan’s name appeared in seventh place on the holographic projection.

Irritated, Chu Ying lashed out. “What the hell! These people are brainless!”

The rest of the International Class shared the same thought. Su Ruowan earned herself a rotten name after the plagiarism, and yet her followers seemed to not have a thing with the foul.

Yu Qiubai calmly gazed at Mr. Xixi before turning to Su Ruowan’s fan base.

There was an uneven ratio between male and female fans. The male fans occupied about seventy percent while the girls at thirty. Judging from the males’ outfits, they were daydreaming otakus who were gaga over hot chicks.

It was a stereotype to say girls were the crazy fans because otaku fanboys would do just everything the fangirls could and more.

Instead of taking the other fans head-on, Su Ruowan’s otaku fanboys were chanting Su Ruowan’s name in unison. Their voices echoed in the stadium, muffling out the other noises. This was a true embodiment of obsession.

The mentors had a complicated look on their faces with Su Ruowan’s name ringing in their ears. Taking Gu Yang’s lead, they sneaked a peek at Mr. Xixi to see his reaction.

As expected, Mr. Xixi was his usual stiff-upper-lip self as though nothing fazed him. His emotionless eyes scanned the ranking on the projector screen.

Feeling smug and delighted, Su Muyan looked at the hypocrites in contempt. It was not all black and white in showbiz. Only the person with the capacity to be the last one standing could reach greater heights.

So what if Wanwan plagiarized? So what if there was overwhelming evidence? Did it affect her popularity? Did it hinder her from making a debut? Not at all.

The scandal only brought out the fans’ loyalty; the fans who remained by her side and would go to lengths to support Su Ruowan to guarantee her debut.

“There’s a lot of support for Su Ruowan!” Xia Mi lamented to Mr. Xixi. His tone hinted at mockery.

“The power of resources,” bobbing her head, Shen Xi replied.

Her voice was loud enough for those within earshot. The audience might have a chance to catch the comment if the broadcast director decided to cut the scene to the panel of mentors.

Su Muyan’s face turned menacing as he coldly smirked to himself. Sour grapes! Mr. Xixi was just jealous!